A Note On EcoRodovias Infraestrutura e Logística S.A.'s (BVMF:ECOR3) ROE and Debt To Equity

Many investors are still learning about the various metrics that can be useful when analysing a stock. This article is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE). To keep the lesson grounded in practicality, we'll use ROE to better understand EcoRodovias Infraestrutura e Logística S.A. (BVMF:ECOR3).

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

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How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

Return on equity can be calculated by using the formula:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for EcoRodovias Infraestrutura e Logística is:

18% = R$740m ÷ R$4.0b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2025).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. So, this means that for every R$1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of R$0.18.

Check out our latest analysis for EcoRodovias Infraestrutura e Logística

Does EcoRodovias Infraestrutura e Logística Have A Good Return On Equity?

Arguably the easiest way to assess company's ROE is to compare it with the average in its industry. However, this method is only useful as a rough check, because companies do differ quite a bit within the same industry classification. If you look at the image below, you can see EcoRodovias Infraestrutura e Logística has a similar ROE to the average in the Infrastructure industry classification (15%).

That isn't amazing, but it is respectable. Although the ROE is similar to the industry, we should still perform further checks to see if the company's ROE is being boosted by high debt levels. If a company takes on too much debt, it is at higher risk of defaulting on interest payments. You can see the 3 risks we have identified for EcoRodovias Infraestrutura e Logística by visiting our risks dashboard for free on our platform here.

The Importance Of Debt To Return On Equity

Most companies need money -- from somewhere -- to grow their profits. That cash can come from retained earnings, issuing new shares (equity), or debt. In the case of the first and second options, the ROE will reflect this use of cash, for growth. In the latter case, the use of debt will improve the returns, but will not change the equity. That will make the ROE look better than if no debt was used.

Combining EcoRodovias Infraestrutura e Logística's Debt And Its 18% Return On Equity

It seems that EcoRodovias Infraestrutura e Logística uses a huge volume of debt to fund the business, since it has an extremely high debt to equity ratio of 5.67. We consider it to be a negative sign when a company has a rather low ROE despite a rather high debt to equity.

Conclusion

Return on equity is useful for comparing the quality of different businesses. A company that can achieve a high return on equity without debt could be considered a high quality business. All else being equal, a higher ROE is better.

Having said that, while ROE is a useful indicator of business quality, you'll have to look at a whole range of factors to determine the right price to buy a stock. The rate at which profits are likely to grow, relative to the expectations of profit growth reflected in the current price, must be considered, too. So you might want to take a peek at this data-rich interactive graph of forecasts for the company.

Of course EcoRodovias Infraestrutura e Logística may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have high ROE and low debt.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.